Zebralight H600, H600w, H600F, H600Fw Mk III XHP35

[Andrew479]

My replies were filtered, if mods find them unsuitable to the topic at hand, they didn't have to approve them.

Let's keep it simple. My H600w MK2 does use PWM (during thermal throttling at least). Therefore I assumed all ZLs might use some sort of PWM in one way or the other. Therefore "Low frequency (<300Hz) PWM strobing is not entirely out of question". Take it however you wish. Nothing is ever out of question completely.

Not sure how a statement by anyone on the forum damages a company.
True, honest company don't need to filter people's opinions, they let the products speak for themselves. I didn't imply in any way that ZL is a bad company, nor was my intention to do so.
Just that the choice of XHP35 wasn't particularly good one, since they had to mod the circuity and optics a lot to achieve marginally better performance.
As for how the lamp actually perform, I can only speculate, that's right, but numbers if properly interpreted don't lie.

Anyway, thanks for the info about SC600 MK3, it now makes sense.

 

[tex.proud]

My H600w MKIII XHP35 arrived today. Can't wait to get out this weekend! Here it is next to the H603w XHP35. You can see how the H600 has a deeper and lightly orange-peeled reflector, and the H603 has a shallower reflector with a diffuse coating.

 

[Koam]

You might as well say, "it's not entirely out of the question that MacDonalds is using human flesh instead of beef in its hamburgers." That is also evidence-free speculation that damages a company's reputation in an irresponsible way (or would if I were saying it seriously). It is also not something that anyone should toss around without very, very good reason.

The MacSoylent!

 

[JanezFord]

Hello,

I own both the H600Fw mk2 as H600Fw mk3 and I am very pleased with the MK3 with xhp35. My mk2 gave up after two years of abuse and now works only in H1. On lower settings it seems like voltage meter is not working properly and steps down after few seconds to a lower level and finally turns off the light. Even with full battery I get only one flash instead of four, but if I run it on H1 for a while to get it hot, I get 4 flashes .. weird I know (yes, I have tried different batteries) but I use my mk2 now only for my night mountain-bike downhills (in combo with fenix on the bars) so it does not matter much to me because I run it on H1 all the time anyway . I use mk3 for everything else and I just love it. The tint is pleasant to my eyes, runtime a bit better than mk2 and output brighter but only if you compare it side by side. I do think that mk2 has a bit more gentle pid stepdown than mk3. The stepdown is quite noticable on mk3 but that does not bother me too much. Anyway, I hope for an xhp50 version of H600. It may seem a bit too much for an average user but I don't consider myself to be an average user and when you are flying through the woods at night on your bike more lumens is better and also safer to have. I use sc62w as my EDC but H600Fw MK3 is always in my backpack for handsfree operations at work. I work as live sound engineer and low lumen settings are perfect for discrete stage operations. If you already own the h600 mk2 than upgrade to mk3 is not so big that I would recommend it, but if you are buying your first h600 than IMHO it is worth the extra 10$ for a newer model over the old one.

JF

 

[BigusLightus]

Of all the lights I've edc'd the H600 is my favorite. I own two and both have failed due to switch issues. The new models have exciting specs and as a flashaholic i want one. However, i can't see spending another $90 given my experience with two switch failures.

 

[WigglyTheGreat]

Just curious if you have contacted support on your switch failures? If outside of warranty I have read they can repair lights at a reasonable cost. I haven't had an issue with my 3 zebralights yet, but like to hear if folks have positive results using zebralight support.

 

[lampeDépêche]

Of all the lights I've edc'd the H600 is my favorite. I own two and both have failed due to switch issues. The new models have exciting specs and as a flashaholic i want one. However, i can't see spending another $90 given my experience with two switch failures.

Huh. That's unfortunate.

But I have had about a half-dozen H6XX lights (as well as 4 H5XX models), and used them in many applications (bicycle headlight on the handlebars, headlamp in underground crawl-space house renovation jobs, etc.), and I have never had any trouble with switches.

It doesn't matter, really: ZL is obligated to make this good for you. Send them in and tell them to fix it.

 

[BigusLightus]

Both of my H600's are well past the warranty period. Ive messaged ZL from their "contact us" page and have not gotten any response in almost a month. I really like my H600's and would like to get them repaired. No luck so far.

 

[gunga]

Hmmm. They are supposed to fix them for $15.

 

[Derek Dean]

Yes, I'd try contacting them again. It sounds like you might have caught them during the holiday rush, because typically they've always gotten back to me with 1-2 days, and sometimes within a few hours.

But basically, you send them the light with $15, and a month or so later they send it back to you repaired.

 

[BigusLightus]

Received my reply yesterday. Sending my lights in today.

 

[MNDan]

My H600w MK III has a nasty green donut hole. Once seen, cannot be unseen. The hole doesn't just show on a white wall, it appears on everything. The remainder of the spot and spill is perfect, but I've started a return. Not keeping a light I'll never use...

FYI - It looks just like this sc63 beamshot from another thread. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Spot-Normal&p=4936899&viewfull=1#post4936899

I just checked one out and I have no idea what you are talking about. It's just a slightly brighter and cooler version of my Mk II neutral. It's awesome and I'm going to get one!

 

[eh4]

Great thread. From reading it I determined that time might be running out to get a spare H600w MkII, and so I finally ordered a spare, and sure enough I couldn't get an H600w, so I ordered an H600Fw instead.

After the Mkiii have been out for a year or so I'll be looking forward to getting one, or a few.
For now though, being suspicious of new things and not knowing as much about electronics as I'd like, I'm concerned about the reliability of the higher voltage circuit vs the more proven MkII circuit.

I asked nicely and got a few spare clear lenses in case that floody lense cracks, or I end up unable to stand that is not clear. So far though I love the Fw, I gave it an H type pocket clip with heat shrink reinforcement, same as the H600w that spends every day in my front pocket, but the H600Fw is staying in the headlamp strap that it came with, fantastic headlamp. The clip is just there for versatility.

 

[Tachead]

Great thread. From reading it I determined that time might be running out to get a spare H600w MkII, and so I finally ordered a spare, and sure enough I couldn't get an H600w, so I ordered an H600Fw instead.

After the Mkiii have been out for a year or so I'll be looking forward to getting one, or a few.
For now though, being suspicious of new things and not knowing as much about electronics as I'd like, I'm concerned about the reliability of the higher voltage circuit vs the more proven MkII circuit.

I asked nicely and got a few spare clear lenses in case that floody lense cracks, or I end up unable to stand that is not clear. So far though I love the Fw, I gave it an H type pocket clip with heat shrink reinforcement, same as the H600w that spends every day in my front pocket, but the H600Fw is staying in the headlamp strap that it came with, fantastic headlamp. The clip is just there for versatility.

I wouldn't worry about the MKIII's. I have had my MKIII's for over a year now and they are working as good as the day I bought them. I am not your average user either and put a lot of use on my lights being a tradesman as well as an avid outdoor enthusiast(rock climbing, backcountry camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, etc.). Plus, they offer a 1 year warrant and will fix any issue after that for $15.

 

[eh4]

Glad to hear it!
I'm stoked to have a spare MKII, and I'll be stoked to get at least one flavor of the MKIII as well, probably sooner than later.

 

[MNDan]

I just checked one out and I have no idea what you are talking about. It's just a slightly brighter and cooler version of my Mk II neutral. It's awesome and I'm going to get one!

I take it all back! I just got the Neutral version of the 600 MK III and it indeed has a crappy greenish blob in the middle of the hot spot. I think the one I originally checked out must have been the cool version (which doesn't have this problem!). I guess this explains why it looked quite a bit cooler (though no blueish-ness) than my Mk II Neutral. It's going back and I'll be getting the cool version instead. I think Zebralight is going to see a fair number of returns due to this issue - it's very obvious!

Dan

 

[Ag76]

I take it all back! I just got the Neutral version of the 600 MK III and it indeed has a crappy greenish blob in the middle of the hot spot. I think the one I originally checked out must have been the cool version (which doesn't have this problem!). I guess this explains why it looked quite a bit cooler (though no blueish-ness) than my Mk II Neutral. It's going back and I'll be getting the cool version instead. I think Zebralight is going to see a fair number of returns due to this issue - it's very obvious!

Dan

This is not good to hear....after finding this forum and doing some research, I had about decided to purchase a ZL H600w Mk III. I'd read some reports about flickering in the L1 mode, but ZL support tells me this was not a known issue. Now reports of the "blobs" in the middle of the hot spot is enough for me to hold off on buying one for now. Has anyone gotten a 600w Mk III without the "blob", or should I think about going with the cool version?

 

[Collins]

Great thread. From reading it I determined that time might be running out to get a spare H600w MkII, and so I finally ordered a spare, and sure enough I couldn't get an H600w, so I ordered an H600Fw instead.

After the Mkiii have been out for a year or so I'll be looking forward to getting one, or a few.
For now though, being suspicious of new things and not knowing as much about electronics as I'd like, I'm concerned about the reliability of the higher voltage circuit vs the more proven MkII circuit.

I asked nicely and got a few spare clear lenses in case that floody lense cracks, or I end up unable to stand that is not clear. So far though I love the Fw, I gave it an H type pocket clip with heat shrink reinforcement, same as the H600w that spends every day in my front pocket, but the H600Fw is staying in the headlamp strap that it came with, fantastic headlamp. The clip is just there for versatility.

Are there instructions somewhere on how to replace the lens on these?

I was looking at getting an H603d flood, and I've read the quad LED's on that can shine a cross artifact when looking at walls, etc. And so I thought if I found that to be annoying that I might could put a frosted lens on it.

 

[Andrey]

I was looking at getting an H603d flood, and I've read the quad LED's on that can shine a cross artifact when looking at walls, etc. And so I thought if I found that to be annoying that I might could put a frosted lens on it.

It's simpler than that.
Artifact was caused by the shiny bezel focusing emitter. Current batches of 603s have frosted bezels to resolve this issue.
In case you get a light from older batch and disturbed by the artifact, just paint the bezel with a dark marker, it will make it disappear.

 

[Collins]

It's simpler than that. Artifact was caused by the shiny bezel focusing emitter. Current batches of 603s have frosted bezels to resolve this issue. In case you get a light from older batch and disturbed by the artifact, just paint the bezel with a dark marker, it will make it disappear.

I'm ordering one directly from Zebralight. So I assume it will be the newer release and have the frosted bezel.